Falling Fast
by yournameiskevin
Summary: A story that follows our heros and their children's life after the war. Starting before the birth of James, we see the new generation experience the joys, trials and tribulations of youthful love in a post-war wizarding world. (Eventual slash, JSP&TL)
1. Prologue

Prologue

With the end of the war came an abundance of free time for the heroes. There was some talk of requiring an eighth year and it was clear that the children needed to finish their education. They still were children in the eyes of the world, even if the war had stolen their innocence. However, there were some problems with the proposal of an 8th year, and so in the end it was decided that students would be provided with the resources they needed to prepare for their newts, but in a much more relaxed atmosphere than traditional school.

Preparations were made, and soon the new "8th years" found themselves enjoying a freedom that they would never have been able to imagine before. They were allowed to leave the castle at will, spend nights at home or in the 8th year dorms, constructed especially for the unique situation. Students spent their time flooing in and out of Hogwarts multiple times a day. Some lived partially at home, and partially at school. Harry, having grown up in a house but certainly not in something that would be considered a "home", was surprised to find that he was one of the people casually flitting in and out of the castle, deciding where to stay on a day-to-day basis. The Weasley's had decided that he truly was one of their own, and Harry certainly didn't mind having to bunk with others. He made it clear that he didn't mind spending a couple months in the temporary housing that the Weasley's had set up after their cottage had burned down.

Of course the true sense of freedom was a result of Voldemorts death. Some found it easier to transition back into normal lives than others. Many people hadn't believed the Dark Lord was back until a year or two before he was defeated. For Harry, almost half of his life featured the impending fear that Voldemort presented. The same was true for those closest to him: Ron, Hermione and even Ginny. His 8th year was spent primarily with the people who he _knew _understood his feelings. Ron and Hermione would often go off and leave Ginny and Harry to keep each other company. The latter couple had both pledged to themselves to take things slowly. Regardless, as they spent more and more time with each other they found themselves facing an undeniable truth: they were totally and irrevocably in love.

Soon, it was a year after the war and they had spent almost every waking moment together. Harry, who had come to value the Weasleys as his own family, felt that he was ready to make them a more permanent and official part of his life.

Ron was the first person he told about his decision to propose, Hermione soon after. Ron hadn't had much to say- all Harry got in response was a soft grunt, probably because he was unable to understand, much less express, his feelings on the matter.

Hermione was much better in providing feedback about his choice to propose so early and so young. Her reaction consisted mostly of firing off questions like a machine gun fired off bullets.

"What does Ginny think about this?"

"What do you mean? I haven't proposed yet."

"So you're not going to talk to her about it beforehand?"

"That would ruin the surprise," Harry reasoned. Hermione looked at him disapprovingly.

"Wouldn't you say that the decision to marry is one of the biggest decisions many people make in their lives, Harry?"

"Well, yeah," he said. "Hermione, trust me, I've thought this over. I feel like I'm ready."

"How long did you think it over for?" She asked. Now Harry was feeling a little annoyed.

"Months! Days and days on end! I've thought about it more that I've thought about most anything else!"

"So, you've thought this over for quite a while?" Hermione's voice sounded like she was confirming this information rather than actually questioning him. Harry nodded impatiently. "And your plan is to propose to Ginny in some romantic and unexpected way, forcing her to make the very same decision you've had months to think about in a matter of minutes?"

"I-" Suddenly Harry felt his words catch in the back of his throat. He stood silent for a minute, trying to come up with the right thing to say. Something to justify this. "I mean, she's had just as long to think of it as I have!" His voice sounded defensive, even to his own ears.

"How, Harry? How could she possibly have had just as much time to think about it? Sure you aren't _stopping _her from thinking about it, but you can't expect a 17 year old girl fresh out of school to assume that her boyfriend is going to propose. Unless you talk about it, chances are, she won't even think to consider the possibility!"

Harry was upset, both because she wasn't being supportive and because she was right. "Why are you acting like I'm doing bad by Ginny by trying to propose to her? I just want to spend the rest of my life with her!" He felt his face turn beet red when his voice cracked at the end of the sentence.

"Look, Harry," Hermione's voice remained calm, absent of the heated anger that Harry spoke with. "I don't think you are trying to trick Ginny into marrying you or anything like that. I just don't wonder if you've thought about how it might feel for her, getting proposed to, without any warning, at 17. If you really want to spend the rest of your life with her, then you two are going to have to make this decision together, and like adults. No surprises, no snap decisions."

There were a few tense moments of silence after this little speech, but Hermione didn't try and say more. She was smart like that. Eventually the defensiveness seemed to seep out of Harry's body, and he look exhausted. "You're right, 'Mione. As always. I'm glad you-" He didn't know what exactly he was glad for. Everything, maybe. "You're always honest, and you're the best friend I could hope for." He smiled at her, and with a hug, turned to walk back into her and Ron's flat. He couldn't be sure, but when he glanced back, he felt like he might have seen a tear in her eyes, and a smile on her face.

The day after his conversation with Hermione, Harry owled Ginny requesting a chance to talk with her, and then flooed over to the Burrow. Upon his arrival, he found Ginny pacing by the fireplace, presumably waiting for him, hands clasped nervously together.

She looked at him with a fathomless expression in her eyes. Perhaps a little fearful, a little angry. Harry smiled gently.

"Wanna take a walk?"

"Sure." Her voice was tight, and she didn't sound like she particularly wanted to walk. Once they were out of the Burrow with no one else in sight, she stopped, turning to him. "So, what exactly is it that we need to talk about?"

As soon as she asked, Harry felt all the nervousness that had been absent on his trip over here rush to the front of his mind.

"I want to marry you." The words rushed out of his mouth, his face turning red with embarrassment. "I'm not proposing right now though! Can I just, talk for a minute, get everything out? And then you can, er, talk and tell me what you think?"

Ginny's face relaxed, as well as her body. She looked shocked, but slowly the expression on her face was becoming more pleased and less defensive.

"Yeah, so, I was going to propose to you, and I told Hermione and Ron, and well... Ron didn't really have anything to say about it, because he's, well... You know." Ginny snorted at that, in what Harry took to be agreement. "Hermione though, she pointed out that it wasn't fair for me to ask you to decide to marry me, giving you minutes to decide what I've had months to think about."

Ginny looked at him, a certain amount of softness apparent in her eyes. "I love you," she told him, reaching up to touch his cheek briefly. Then she looked away and laughed nervously. "Hermione always has been wise beyond her years."

"I know," he said with a smile, thinking back to all the times Hermione had saved him and Ron from disaster. "I said that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and she said that the only way that would be a possibility is if we talked and were honest about how we felt."

Ginny leaned into him, placing her head on his chest. "I feel like... I want to spend the rest of my life with you too. We've gone through so much Harry, and we've been forced to grow up far too soon in all the worst ways." She looked up into his eyes.

"I know," Harry said again. He didn't know what else to say. His heart was beating extremely fast. Coming over here, he had been sure that this was just going to be a serious talk, not a proposal, but now he was realizing that after this talk he would have his answer.

"I'm ready to have the good parts of growing up. I'm ready to be in love. I'm ready to be with you. I'm..." She trailed off, taking a pause. Inhale. Exhale. "I'm ready to start a family with you, Harry."

In that moment there could be no better answer Harry could imagine. He tightened his arms around the girl who was resting her beautiful fiery head on his chest, and laughing spun them both around. Then he lifted her up, kissing her, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Looking into her eyes, they both laughed. After a few moments of standing in such an intimate and youthful embrace, Ginny climbed down, and took his hand. As she pulled him forward so that they could continue their walk, Harry glanced back to the Burrow, and saw Molly and Arthur watching them. A rush of embarrassment washed over him, and for a moment he wished that they hadn't witnessed such an intimate moment between them. With time, the embarrassment would fade, and eventually Harry would come to appreciate how much that must have meant to them, to witness young love in all of its purity after so much pain.

After that original conversation, many more followed. Though talking so often and so openly about their feelings made Harry feel uncomfortable at times, for the most part he appreciated the new found closeness that came with them. Eventually came the proposal, and though it couldn't be a surprise for Ginny, Harry insured it was a surprise for everyone else. With the except of Ron and Hermione, of course.

Since Ginny had already agreed that she thought her and Harry had a future together that she wanted to start sooner rather than later, most of the nervous feelings were non-existent. The actual act of proposing took place at a large dinner party hosted at Harry's flat. Ginny helped him with the decorating, since the only spells Harry had managed to master were mostly defensive, even after over eight years in the wizarding world. Ron and Hermione also helped with putting together the meals and invitations. It felt great, all of them together, working together, finally doing something innocent, unrelated to any death eaters, criminals or injuries. Even after the war, much of what the trio did together had a certain negativity to it- a result of pursuing careers that reflected their experiences. Hermione figured that becoming Aurors and Unspeakables probably helped the transition, but they couldn't be certain. Harry suspected that it might just be wishful thinking on her part.

The proposal night for Harry consisted mostly of him observing the other three in their attempts to decorate his modest flat. Occasionally he would pull Ginny to the side and point out behavior of Ron's and Hermione's that was particularly endearing. Eventually everything was a ready as it was going to be, and the guests were arriving. After dinner, but before dessert, Harry made his move. He hadn't told Ginny exactly when he was going to propose during the night, in hopes that she would appear at least a little surprised.

It all was very sweet. Molly gasped when he got down on one knee, and many people cried, including Teddy Lupin, who was confused as to why all the adults around him had suddenly started tearfully shouting congratulations. Once Andromeda managed to calmed down young Teddy, Harry offered to let him spend the night at his flat. Teddy was overjoyed by the prospect, having found great entertainment value in the various criminal detecting knick-knacks scattered around the living room. A brief trip home later to gather up Teddy's things for the night, and then Teddy was crying for the second time that night as he said goodbye to his grandmother for the first time since the death of his parents.

By the time the wedding came around, Ginny and Harry were sure of one thing: They wanted kids, and they didn't want to wait. They had made it a tradition for all of their brief engagement to have Teddy sleep over at their house a couple times a week. Harry had even brought him into the Aurors office one day, and though Ginny couldn't bring him to quidditch practice with her, she had managed to acquire a child sized broom, much like the one Harry had zoomed about on as a small child. Teddy took to imitating Harry's look quite often, and it got to the point where Harry decided it was easier to get a child sized pair of Auror robes and glasses than to constantly be looking for where Teddy had last left his.

The minute Ginny first saw Teddy in his child sized Auror outfit she tossed her quidditch gear to the side, ran over, scooped him up in her arms and declared that there was no other option- Teddy would have to be the ring bearer.

Once Ginny had made the decision of Teddy being their ring bearer, she put in an order for a child sized suit. Then she informed Harry that everything for the wedding was in order. Harry was surprised that all the wedding planning was over- to him it seemed like it would never end. The date had been set for right after Teddy's birthday, April 19th. This way, Harry and Ginny would be able to throw Teddy the most extensive birthday party any 2-year-old had ever seen, since many of the guests would be staying at the Burrow the night before.

It was only later that night that Harry realized he should probably _ask _Teddy to be the ring bearer before assuming he would cooperate. Luckily, when he asked while tucking Teddy in, he found the toddler very agreeable. He tried to explain in the simplest terms possible what the job would entail, but he also figured that there wasn't much Teddy could do wrong when carrying the rings. The only things Harry could imagine Teddy doing wrong would be to trip, start crying, or start ripping off all his clothes and running around naked (a habit he had become increasingly fond of). Even if all of those things happened, though, Harry couldn't imagine it would make his wedding any worse. On the contrary, it would simply give them more to laugh about when Teddy was grown.

It turned out that nothing went wrong- which Molly claimed was both quite fortunate and unusual. After the ceremony she informed the newly weds that their smooth running wedding was surely a sign. "The fates are looking after you two," she told them. They just nodded, and giggled a little bit when she left.

"You know, it sounds like a load of codswhollop to me but... If there is anyone who know what a wedding means for the future of a couple, it would be your mum."

"She has seen many weddings in her day, and many marriages," Ginny agreed.

At the reception, the young couple danced their first dance to Celestina Warbeck's hit, Cauldron Full Of Hot Strong Love. It was an old song, for sure, and perhaps not popular anymore, but during the war Ginny had found solace in her mothers old music, and it wasn't as if Harry had any other suggestions. It was certainty the right choice, Harry decided, when he looked over at the people who had, in so many ways, been the parents he never had. Even though Arthur hadn't seemed to enjoy the song much when it had come on the radio all those Christmas' ago, he was now looking deep into his wife's eyes. It occurred to Harry in that moment that once, many years ago, Molly and Arthur had been just as young and in love as he was now with Ginny. He hoped dearly that there would come a day at his future child's wedding when he could look down at Ginny and remember this moment, right now. It seemed appropriate, Ginny and Harry, eighteen and seventeen, dancing to the song that Arthur and Molly had danced to when they were eighteen themselves.

* * *

AN: This is, to be honest, the very first fanfiction I've attempted writing, as well as the first place I've attempted to post it. I was planning on writing and editing it in it's entirety before posting it, but after surpassing 10,000 words everything got a little too disorganized and I realized it wasn't really a viable option. Therefore, I'm going to post this as I finish with chapters (as many other fanfiction writers do) and it will not be edited in its entirety until its completion. Do not fear though, there of course will be chapter by chapter edits. Additionally, I don't have a beta (I'm not exactly sure how betas work on this site) and I'm open to any suggestions for improvements- feel free to leave them in reviews!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Harry had expected to have a child one day, but not quite like this. It was 12 months and a week after their wedding, and Ginny was screaming and sweating, yelling about how she was going to rip Harry's balls out for knocking her up. Between contractions she was great, and he was even able to sit at her bedside, stroking her head and wiping off her face with a cold rag. However, once another contraction rolled around, all he could do was sit there, biting his tongue in order to keep himself from screaming as Ginny seemed to break all of the bones in his hand with her squeezing.

About a month after they were married, they decided that they wanted kids sooner rather than later. Ginny said that in quidditch it made more sense to have children very early on the the career rather than in the middle of it. It honestly didn't make much sense to Harry, but he figured that it was more Ginny's decision than his. He was ready to have a kid whenever, and if now was the best time, well, he wasn't going to complain.

Once it was decided they wanted kids sooner, Harry and Ginny decided instead of trying to have kids they would just let nature take its course. Or rather, stop trying to prevent it from happening.

Reality didn't really sink in until three months after their wedding when Ginny missed her period. They had figured it would take a while- Harry had heard that it took some couples years to actually have a child. Sitting in the hospital bed a year after their wedding, Harry realized how stupid he had been in assuming it would take them a long time to have children.

After all, Molly had managed to pop out seven children, and the rest of the Weasley clan seemed to be just a fertile. Harry had never heard of any infertility in his own family, and it wasn't as if him and Ginny were aging. In fact, biologically speaking, this was probably the best time for their bodies to create babies.

Another contraction started, and Ginny let out a low-pitched scream through clinched teeth. It might have even qualified as an extended grunt.

After it was done, she looked up at Harry, exhausted. "Why did we decide to jump the gun on this again?"

"Because we are happy, and young, and in love. Because I was put on this earth with a destiny, and for seventeen years I tried to fulfill it. Eventually I did. I'm ready. I'm ready for the next great adventure, and I'm ready to chose what it is. I chose you, Ginny. I chose family." Then he lowered his forehead until it was pressing up against hers.

"I chose you too, Harry," she whispered. "I'd chose you a thousand times over. Despite what I may say when our baby is forcing its way out of me."

Harry leaned in closer to her, and kissed her cheek. Then he turned to whisper in her ear. "I don't understand why you opted to have no pain killers."

Immediately the fire came back into Ginny's eyes. "You better not be getting cheeky with me, Harry James Potter. I've told you a thousand times, the wizarding world hasn't developed pain-killing potions that are safe for child birth."

"Well, Ginerva Molly Weasley, I have told you a thousand times that the muggling world developed pain killers safe for childbirth years ago."

"I'm not taking any risks delivering my first child." Harry doubted that this practice of natural childbirth would stop with their first, and he didn't really see the logic behind it. Regardless, he was constantly amazed by the things Ginny was willing to go through to insure that their family was safe. He supposed that was part of the reason why he had married her- her bravery, and her willingness to do whatever possible to protect what is most important. "Also, 'muggling' is not a real word."

"It is in my world," Harry replied. "Anyways, I don't think its fair that there isn't an equivalent term to 'wizarding' for muggles."

"There doesn't need to be an equivalent! You just say muggle world. No I-N-G needed."

"That doesn't make sense. Hermione!" Harry decided that since the brightest witch of their age was with them, he might as well take advantage of her brain.

Hermione put a bookmark in the book she was reading and then walked over to them. "Yes, Harry?"

"Why isn't there a muggle equivalent to 'wizarding world'?"

"I'm actually not that sure." She frowned, clearly in thought. Harry grinned. He loved when he stumped Hermione. He suspected she loved it too, if only because the challenge of a hard to answer question was rare for her.

The lighthearted discourse ended abruptly though, with another contraction. Apparently Ginny was getting close to actually finally having the baby, because at this point the Healer started to inform her about what she should be doing with her body.

"Push... Now, breath... Okay, when you feel this next contraction you're going to want to push..."

By the end of it all, everyone seemed to be covered in sweat. Soon after Ginny was presented with a little bundle of blue blankets, and in it the baby which she and Harry had worked together to create.

"Do you have a name?" The Healer asked the young couple.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"James," Harry replied. "James Sirius Potter." It was unbelievable, that he was holding something so alive, something he had created... Even more amazing was that no matter what happened, his father's and Sirius' legacies would be carried on, through namesake, just by little James' very existence.

* * *

_AN: I really did want to wait a week at least before posting this chapter, but then I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm getting really excited about this whole publishing fanfiction thing, which I supposed is good for those of you who want to read it. Again, if you notice any mistakes, or just want to talk about the story at all, shoot me a message. I'd be happy to chat. :)_


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was decided shortly after they brought James home that someone would need to take some time off work. Harry figured that Ginny had the best prospect at a future career, and she seemed to posses a little more passion for her job that he did for his. Thus the logical choice was for Harry to be the one to take time off from the Aurors in order to help out raising James. At first, Ginny was hesitant, but once Hermione had assured her of the effectiveness of breast pumps, it was pretty much a done deal. Apparently the wizarding world also had yet to create a way to avoid breast feeding. Harry was very thankful that Hermione had be able to help them in subverting the patriarchal ways that still remained very present in the magical world, because in all honesty, he felt like he was meant to be a stay at home dad.

It was as if James was healing him from the war. Every minute he spent with his son seemed to affect him, somewhere deep inside. There was something so... pure about spending time around James. It was a complete lack of complications. He felt nothing but unadulterated love for his son. There was no complexity in it- he love simply everything about James. He loved playing with him, listening to him try and gurgle out words, watching him learn to crawl. More than that, he loved waking up in the middle of the night to comfort him when he was crying, because he had woken up a thousand times before only to experience things so horrifying he would never wish to repeat them. He loved changing his dirty diapers, because they never smelled worse than the scent of death that had seemed ever-present in the Malfoys cellar. Even James' seemingly endless spit-up didn't seem so bad after witnessing blood flow from many mouths before a witch or wizard took their last gasping breath.

Even with the images of the war constantly haunting him, Harry could still function almost completely normally. He credited it to James, and whether it was correctly placed credit or not, he would still be forever grateful to his son for saving him from his own thoughts.

One day, when Ginny came home looking particularly worn out, Harry finally knew what to do to make her feel better. He simply passed her the sleeping baby cradled in his hands. It worked. Immediately everything about her relaxed.

"This- having James- it was the best decision we ever made," he said.

"I know. I am so glad that we didn't put it off. I know a lot of people thought we were crazy for having so much so young but... it was right."

"It was what we needed," Harry agreed.

Perhaps the only downside when it came to James was the sheer amount of time he took up. It wasn't that Harry and Ginny minded the time it took to take care of a baby- in fact, they enjoyed every minute of it. However, it took away from their other relationships. While most of their friends and families understood that the baby was a priority, some were too young to comprehend this. Namely, Teddy Lupin.

It was quite a shock for young Teddy when the baby was born, just a week after his 3rd birthday. The year before James' birth had been one of the best for young Teddy. He had gained two new parents in his eyes, both who seemed to love him just as much as his grandmother. However, just over a year after gaining them, he lost them. At the time he hadn't understood birthdays much, and he had understood even less why he was the central point in a celebration right before two people he loved disappeared from his life.

Of course, Teddy still saw Ginny and Harry, at the occasional family dinner. When he did see them, all they were interested in was spending time with the new wrinkly little human they had acquired. Everyone had thought it quite funny when Teddy had started imitating James' baby features in his own face, but Harry and Ginny had barely noticed.

So obviously, the next time this strange celebration rolled around, Teddy was not pleased about it. He was starting to catch onto the concept of birthdays, but he still assumed that the loss of Harry and Ginny to this strange new creature was somehow linked to it. Plus, from what he could gather, right around his original birthday was when he lost his real parents.

He decided the best course of action was to boycott his own celebration. Not that the 4-year-old had any real concept of what a boycott was. He simply decided to ignore anything related to his birthday, and when his grandmother insisted he tell her what type of part he wanted, Teddy proceeded to throw a fit, complete with tears and screaming.

"NO PARTY!" Was probably the most commonly repeated phrase around the Lupin-Tonks household in the weeks before Teddy's birthday, closely followed by cries of "NO BIRTHDAY!"

Andromeda, of course, was very concerned by this behavior. She honestly couldn't figure out where it was stemming from, which was surprising to her, seeing as she had been sure that Tonks had pretty much put her through all of the crazy things any child could.

Eventually she decided to talk to the most experienced mother she knew- Molly Weasley. Molly had raised 7 children of her own, and honestly, probably even more through her adoptive attitude she seemed to take when meeting any new friends of her children's. So, a week before Teddy's birthday took place, Andromeda headed over to the Burrow to talk to Molly, hoping to solve the issue before Teddy's party.

The minute the two arrived at the Burrow, Arthur Weasley offered to take Teddy off Andromeda's hands, saying something about a new jungle gym he was constructing. Andromeda wasn't quite sure what a jungle gym actually was, but assuming it was some muggle invention, she waved them off. Teddy always found lots of entertainment in the muggle artifacts Arthur always seemed to be collecting.

Molly was walking around the kitchen, casting various cleaning spells to get the house in order.

"Molly, I've been having some problems with Teddy, and I'm not sure what to do about it." Andromeda decided straightforward honesty was the best approach.

Credit to her experience, Molly didn't over react by shooting her an overly concerned look. Instead, she simply asked, "What kind of problems?"

"Teddy is refusing to have a birthday party," she explained.

"Do you know why he doesn't want one?" Molly asked.

"No, and that's exactly my problem. I can't figure out where it is coming from."

"Have you asked him why?"

Andromeda considered this for a moment. "I must have at some point, but I don't think he ever told me."

Molly in her many years of parenting, figured that Andromeda had probably simply forgotten the simple question of "Why?" when dealing with Teddy's stubborn attitude. It was a common problem. "Why don't you let me talk to him, see if I figure out where it's all coming from?"

"That would be great. You're always so good with kids, if anyone can get Teddy behaving, it's you."

Molly shook her head. "Don't sell yourself short Andromeda, you're a wonderful grandmother and mother."

Without warning, Andromeda was crying. "I was a wonderful mother, perhaps. Not anymore."

Molly quickly walked over and wrapped her in a firm hug. "Listen to me... Us mothers- it never stops. Never. I am just as much Fred's mother now as the day he was born."

Suddenly, Andromeda looked horrified. "I didn't mean- Merlin, Molly, of course you are."

"I know I am, and I know you didn't mean to insult me. But really, Andromeda, once a mother, always a mother. It applies to you just as much as it applies to all the other mothers who lost children in the war."

Listening to this seemed to be just the thing Andromeda needed to hear. Slowly her sobbing ebbed away, and after a couple of minutes she was hugging Molly, red-eyed and hiccuping.

"There, there," Molly said in a soothing voice, rubbing Andromeda's back.

"Look at me, crying like a child! I don't know what got into me." They laughed, the kind of laugh that starts out as a giggle, eventually crescendoing into one of those laughs that bubbles up from inside you, as unstoppable as a hurricane, making your stomach hurt in all the right ways.

Once they were able to catch their breath, Molly said, "There is something to said about the way children can handle emotion, though. A lot of times, we don't let it all out. We learn to keep all the hurt locked away inside of us, until eventually it becomes part of who we are."

Andromeda walked over to the window of the Burrow. Since the fire, the Weasleys, with the help of many a friend, had taken to reconstructing the place they had once called home. It wasn't quite yet the intimate atmosphere that Andromeda remembered from her earlier years, but it was bigger in all the right places. George had helped install an amazingly large window over the multiple kitchen sinks and long counter. Out of the window, anyone looking out had a view of the entire garden, along with the shed in which Arthur kept all of his muggle baubles, and the playground he was in the middle of constructing. She looked out, watching Teddy and Arthur chase each other around giggling, Teddy slowly developing a ginger tint to his hair and freckles all over his body.

"Perhaps we could all take a leaf out of the book of children," Andromeda agreed. "They have something about them... There is so much good in there."

"Speaking of children, I should go head out and have a conversation with the young man who apparently hates birthday parties. Do you want to help me start a meal? There's a turkey in the fridge that I need to cook, some potatoes, and I've got a crust ready if you want to help me start on a pot pie." Hermione, convinced that lack of refrigerators was seriously crippling food production in the wizarding world, had gifted Arthur and Molly a fridge for their last anniversary.

"Sounds like a plan!" Andromeda quickly started bustling around the kitchen, happy to make herself useful.

Molly headed out to where Arthur and Teddy were playing together. She smiled at the way they laughed, dodging around, playing some game Teddy had invited that involved very few concrete rules.

"What are you two doing?" She asked, scooping up Teddy.

"We're playing Ministry of Magic!" He replied in enthusiastically, clearly proud of his own ingenious invention of such a game.

"That sounds delightful. However, I think Arthur probably needs to head in to help 'Meda with dinner, isn't that right?" She gave Arthur a pointed look, in hopes that he wouldn't beg for more play time.

"Quite right, Molly dear. Quite right."

Once he was out of earshot, Molly looked at the boy in her arms.

"So," she said. "I hear you've gone on strike. Don't want a birthday party, eh?"

Teddy shook his head, confirming what Andromeda had said. "What I'm wondering," Molly continued, "is why?"

Teddy shrugged, looking away into the vast fields that surrounded the house. Molly raised her eyebrows at this.

"You don't know?" Teddy shook his head again. "You do know?" Again with the shaking. "Teddy dear, if you made me understand why you don't want any birthday parties, I could help you out."

Teddy seemed to consider this for a moment. "Last birthday, Harry left."

This surprised Molly. "What do you mean?"

"Harry left! Ginny left!" Teddy seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated with the turn the conversation had taken.

"Harry and Ginny didn't leave, Teddy. You see them at family dinners all the time."

Teddy started trying to angrily wiggle out of Molly's grasp. "No birthday!"

She set him down and watched him run to the cottage. When she got inside, she pulled Andromeda over to the side.

"Teddy said that he didn't want to have a birthday because last time Ginny and Harry left," Molly said softly. "Do you know what he could mean by that?"

"Oh, of course! They don't have time to come around now, because of the baby. James was born a week after Teddy's last birthday- they simply don't have time to do the same things with Teddy that they used to."

Molly frowned. "How often have they come around to see Teddy?"

"They don't really anymore. I can't remember the last time that I had them come around. I can't blame them though, James has to be their priority of course," Andromeda reasoned.

"Of course James is a newborn and their first child together, but I would have thought that Harry would sympathize more with Teddy's situation. I thought that Harry might be able to help raise Teddy as one of his own, a sort of adoptive son. When a couple adopts a child, and then has another, the adopted child shouldn't become second in importance."

"I would like if Harry came around more, but I can't blame him. He hasn't adopted Teddy, and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of him on my own. Sure, the younger generation that were friends with Dora and Remus help, and its nice, but it's not required." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Also, it's not as if he exactly volunteered to be Teddy's father figure. He might feel obligated because of his own childhood, but he isn't."

Molly pursed her lips. "All I'm saying is that Harry might not have consciously made the decision to abandon Teddy with James' birth. And its not as if its impossible for him to spend time with both- I should know. I raised seven children, Molly. Even with a newborn parents can still have time for the other people in their lives. You should talk to him about it, because I suspect that he might appreciate the prompt to spend more time with his godson."

Andromeda sighed. "Okay. I'll talk to him, but I won't expect him to take away time from his family. Now, Arthur looks like he is struggling with the turkey." The women looked back at Molly's husband, only to witness him try to transfer the turkey from the sink to the counter.

"Arthur dear, what are you doing?" Molly called from the other side of the kitchen.

"Trying to get this bloody turkey on the counter!"

"Arthur! Don't curse around the children. Why was it in the sink in the first place?"

"I was trying to wash it off," he explained. Molly's gaze softened and she looked at him affectionately.

"You don't need to wash off the turkey. Here let me help you out." Walking over to him Molly started directing Teddy and Arthur, trying to salvage the meal from their attempts to help.

Soon they were all sitting around the kitchen table. Even with Andromeda and Teddy to keep them company, the table felt unusually empty to both Arthur and Molly. They never seemed to get used to it. Not when their children went to Hogwarts, and certainly not now.


End file.
